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I love Tom Lehrer. He is astonishingly influential, especially when you consider he wrote only a few dozen songs, and that in his entire performing career he barely exceeded 100 live appearances.

And while most topical political songs have a shelf life approximating that of unrefrigerated fish in the tropics, his political songs (this one isn’t political, of course) are amazingly fresh and relevant 50+ years later.

He has also led a remarkably unconventional life, simply going his own way, and doing pretty much what he wants to do, at least as far as I can tell. More power to him.

And it’s still frequently sung by Irish ballad-singers–at least the non-“folkier-than-thou” types. Like me.

It’s not that exaggerated, either–the Clancy Brothers sang a song called “Weela Waile” about sticking a knife in a babby’s (baby’s) head. The moral of the song was “Don’t stick knives in babby’s heads”! And this was a children’s song……

LIBERAL BIAS!!!!!
The song is intended to indoctrinate children into a socialist way of thinking: That people should not have complete freedom to do what they want. Like buying assault rifles. Isn’t that obvious.
(knives don’t kill babies. People with knives kill babies)

You’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in an English pub listening to a bunch of Icelandic guys singing Scottish folk songs while practicing your French with some German friends and eating Nachos served to you by an Asian waitress with a Spanish accent.

#12: Can’t top your story but I can come close: while wandering through Kreuzberg, at that time a largely Turkish district, in Berlin some years ago, another American and I spotted at bar called The Celtic Cottage and went in. An all-German band was doing bluegrass. They were quite good, actually, although the accents were hysterical (“Güd öld Röckytöpf, Röckytöpf, Tennüseeeeee”).

You’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in an English pub listening to a bunch of Icelandic guys singing Scottish folk songs while practicing your French with some German friends and eating Nachos served to you by an Asian waitress with a Spanish accent.